She's On The Money - The Fresh Start Your Money Actually Needs in 2026 (No Matter Where You’re Starting From)

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

Want 2026 to be the year you get your money on track? This ep is the perfect place to start. It’s our very first Friday Drinks of the year and instead of doing the usual wins and broke tips, we asked the community two big questions. What was your biggest money learning last year? And what small change did you make that had the biggest impact on your finances? The answers are the perfect inspo you need if you’re feeling like you want to do better this year but don’t want to overhaul your entire life to make it happen. Then we dive into two very January-coded situations... feeling overwhelmed about where to begin when you know you want more for yourself, and navigating what happens when your money goals start to evolve faster than the people around you. This episode is all about setting the tone for your best year yet, with all the usual Friday fun and chaos thrown in.  THE BEST SOTM FREEBIES: Your 2026 Fresh Start: Free Money Tools You’ll Love Need the team’s take on your money dilemma? Send us a voicemail here.Or if it's more of a spicy money drama and you want the communities verdict? Slide into our DMs here.  Ready for more laughs, lessons, and unhinged money chats? Check out our oh-so-bingeable Friday Drinks playlist. Listen here. Join our 400K+ She's on the Money community in our Facebook Group and on Instagram.  Acknowledgement of Country By Nartarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. we thank acknowledge and respect the aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see she's on the money podcast acknowledges culture country community and connections bringing you the tools knowledge and resources for you to thrive she's on the money she's on the money hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast that makes personal finance fun especially in 2026 i'm victoria divine and with me are two of the most fabulous people in the

entire world to talk about money with, Miss Jessica Ricci and Miss Bec Sayed. And obviously it's the most fun Friday of the year. It's our very first episode of 2026. Happy New Year, friends. Happy New Year, guys. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Now we have to write 2026 on things. I've been preemptively doing it for like three months. Like all over the end of last year, I kept just writing 2026 on things. Well, don't wish your life away. I know, literally. I'm living in the past because like my issue was not that it was writing 2024 on things yeah I'm the same like oh I'm just stuck in the past yeah anyway we're going to be diving headfirst into new year's energy this year with this episode and we're going to be doing things a little bit

differently I know I shook it up last time because we had our Christmas episode or our like you know boxing day episode whatever we want to call it last one of the year yeah last one of the year and then this is the first one of the year and I feel like they have to be different right they can't be the same stock standard thing that we do each and every year. And this week we asked our community two very important and two very big questions. We asked what was your biggest money learning last year and what was the small change you made that had the biggest impact on your finances? So I thought that later in the show we would share those instead of our usual like money wins and broke tips so that we can all take like inspiration from each other because is that not

what community is about absolutely exactly we'll also always we're not skipping a money dilemma we like the juicy stuff so we're going to be helping to answer a money dilemma that's all about being overwhelmed about where to start when it comes to getting your finances on track and something that you slid into our dms about what do you do when you realize your friends are kind of toxic when it comes to money and maybe you've outgrown them how do you deal with that oh tricky one i've outgrown friends i feel like i have some advice on this and i don't know about you but this is honestly one of my favorite times of the year. And it's honestly not because everyone needs to drastically change because the calendar flipped over to a new year. Like it's not a new year,

new me vibe. Like we don't do that. You could change at any point in time, but I feel like there's like lots of hope and inspiration in the air. Like we're all talking about fresh starts and new beginnings and everyone seems so much more open to embracing change when the calendar flips. Oh, I love it. I love a new year. I know. And I want to be like, you can change any time, but also like, there's just like extra wind, like the pep in your step. And I feel like we should make the most of it. And I feel like people are happy to start doing the work that is going to put themselves in a better position than they were the year before. And we should capitalize on that. We definitely should. Not financially, but also for you guys financially, we should be like

pumping the content that puts you in a position that is the best position of your life. So because of that we know that we get and this is like one of my favorite things ever if you look at the she's on the money podcast listeners every year our biggest spike in listeners is january and the reason for that is people are ready to change and we get a whole heap of new friends joining the show so if you're new here uh welcome to the club welcome welcome to me welcome we love you we cannot wait to show you what we are all about and also welcome to what we sometimes deem a little bit of a cult. And we're thrilled to have you in it. You're in. Or maybe you've rejoined us. Maybe you haven't listened in a while and you've just decided, you know what, I need to get back

on track. I'm going to jump back into She's on the Money, which is what we see a lot. Welcome back, my friend. Welcome back. Come as you like. Exactly. We don't mind. Doors always open. Welcome back and know that you are always welcome in the She's on the Money community. So I wanted to start this show off by asking everyone, what do you want? And everyone, I mean, you, Beck and you, Jess, so many people, what do you want our new listeners to know about She's On The Money or even just to remind our existing very loyal community about? We have so many fantastic free resources. I feel like over the years, the team have really built up. So many, we've got budget templates, we've got the savings hacks, we've got, you need it, we got it. That's what

I going to say? And we actually just put up a blog post yesterday with a bunch of links to all the different things. So if you are going TLDR, don't want to scroll to find the best stuff, we've done it for you. Yeah. We've handpicked it. Yeah. Maybe we can pop a link in the show notes so you can go have a look at that. But there is just so much good stuff there. We spend a lot of time working on it. Our design team are incredible. And I think that there's something for literally everyone, no matter what your goal is for the year, we've got a resource that will help you. yeah absolutely there's so many of them on our website that are free like yes when we redid our website so we rebranded halfway through last year just as context for people who might be new like

if you're like oh I think I've heard of this show but it looks different we do we've had a bit of a glow up we finally could afford a rebrand but we're going through that and I was like girl what the hell like there are savings trackers there are budget templates there are links to so many different free things and I actually didn't realize how out of control it had gotten because I'm like, oh, we'll just, and I say this all the time on the show, I'll be like, we'll just make this and pop it on the website. And then our whole team are like, Victoria, stop promising things because we actually have to make them and put them on the internet. But Beck, what do you think is something that you really want our existing community that we know and love, but also new

friends to know about She's On The Money? I feel like I've said something similar before, but I think that it is really helpful to know that I don't think it matters where you are in your journey and who you are and what your background is, whether there are parts of your identity that make making money harder, or you are in a better position, or you've kind of started life in a better position. It doesn't matter where you're coming from. This community is for you. And it can be very hard to kind of get out of that mindset of being like, my situation is different. My situation is harder. If you take all the information that is available to you you can tailor it to your own specific needs so everyone's welcomed here and

you will find things that are helpful no matter no matter who you are yeah that was really awesome oh thank you guys the episode there actually yeah that's what we do bye oh mine's not as good as that that's really wholesome oh thank you such a way we could oh my goodness thank you guys i was kind of worried also thank you for that from me like yes that's the community that we built together. True. Welcome. I'm obsessed. All right. Well, mine's not as exciting, but it's also very exciting. So my like thing that I want you guys to know about is the summer series that I've just put together. So one thing I adore about making money content is that the foundations are always exactly the same. And I don't know if you have been tracking this, Bec, you probably

haven't because you just couldn't care less. You just come here to yap and have a really good time. but we have nearly 1,000 episodes of She's On The Money. That's insane. Mind-boggling. 1,000. Isn't that insane? Yeah, it's a lot of talking. And we're actually going to hit that milestone this year.

Oh, my God. So, like, I've worked out when we're going to hit it and there will be celebrations. Maybe we'll have a party. I don't know, but we will have a thousandth something party. And if you scroll back to our very first episode, which might take you a little bit of time now, apologies, you'll get something out of it.

So this January, we are going to do something really different. I think a lot of people really want to start at the start, but that can be overwhelming with so many episodes floating around. So this is something that I'm calling our summer starter series. And I've gone back through our entire archive and I've found our best episodes for those of you who really want to start the year the right way. But when you look at the She's On The Money catalog, you're like, that's so overwhelming. There's so much, where do I even start? Which is a very valid question. So the first one drops tomorrow and it's a good one and the perfect first week of the year episode.

So if you are new, again, shameless, but like can you please hit subscribe so that it pops up in your feed tomorrow and that you can have your finger on the pulse. And I would say it's the perfect thing for your 2026 money resolutions. Also resolutions, do you guys set them? Are we setting resolutions this year? Are we doing that? Are we changing things?

Are we putting new rules in place? I don't know. Loosely. I think it's more like I write a letter to myself on things that I want to maintain don't you actually I do

I write a letter to myself that's very cute see you just become more and more my favourite person every time you every time you talk I'm like

look how cute she is though oh my god okay this year is really after a good start it's after a really good start thank you guys it's incredible

I do write a letter to myself I write like where I'm sitting I'll explain the situation what I'm feeling what I want to maintain it's all just very like low

not like not not hard to achieve but it is just my mentality and what I want to feel emotionally at the end of the year do you know what I mean yeah that's kind of what it is what's on the list can you tell us oh yes um she's like no it's private bye that's okay if it is no not at all I just like you know I want to like maintain connections with friends and I want to like build new connections with new friends or strengthen old ones or whatever. And then if I'm right now feeling really happy, uh, or if I'm not, I would like to feel super happy, super content, super proud of myself, whatever that looks like. Go to the gym because that will equate to like me feeling good about myself. You know, I think it's more about like feeling what I want

to be feeling. So just that kind of thing. Yeah. That's so good. So I suppose they are resolutions. Yeah. But you can call it whatever you want. Like it's what works for you. I call mine goals. like goals not that it's any different really but I always have like a list of goals that I want to work towards and I think a lot of the ones Jess just brought up her notes section on her phone yes that's really sweet I'm a visual person I think like a lot of my goals for this year will carry over from last year because they were like really good and like some of them I made some of them I didn't and that's totally okay I think a lot of the ones that I want to really focus on are related to like health and balance and stuff I think yes I'm someone who gets so

caught up in the things that I'm doing that I don't always make time for the important stuff so like hit my 10k steps a day or you know I want to go to at least two Pilates classes a week I this one I failed at so badly last year single digit screen time because my screen time is horrifically embarrassing you also work for a social media company this is true I appreciate that the flexibility yeah that's on you imagine Kiara's social media time I would be through the so yeah like things like that that are you know just little reminders for myself like oh like you know if you don't meet it it's not the end of the world and I really try not to set goals that I don't think are achievable but just things that I think that would help me to improve

how I feel day to day yeah how about you I love that I don't know I haven't written down a list of goals I want to do not more but I want to do better at the stuff that we already do so go deeper on that so like I want to do more investing content but I want to go deeper like I'm not going to like start a new podcast but like does that make sense I want to do what we're doing well now but like take it to the next level and do better I think from a professional perspective I have been thinking about this for a really long time and I don't know if I want to verbalize it because I feel like it puts you or you or me in a place where I now have to back it up but it's a conversation I've been having probably for the last 18 months with my husband with our team on

and off. I really want to do a PhD. Exciting. I really want to go back to university. I don't know how I'm going to manage that, but we just have this epic community here in She's on the Money that give us so much data and so much information. And I'm just really hoping that I could potentially build Australia's largest long-term study on women and money and have this epic resource that is so gritty and so helpful and can be used in so many different ways. One, for my PhD and the thesis that I would write, but two, like that type of research would drive real lasting change and be really, really powerful. And I've been thinking about it for so long and being in the position that I'm in, I'm able to do a PhD and be completely self-funded. And

And I just think that would be really, really cool. That's really cool. So I guess that's a personal and professional kind of thing. It's very exciting. Also, when I finish it, I could call myself Dr. Divine. I just think that's really cool. Like if anyone on an aeroplane goes, we need a doctor, I won't be the one.

But like, you know, I feel like having your male with doctor at the start, big flex. That is so cool. Financially, it's just consistency. Like I'll keep up my automated investments. I'll just keep things tracking along. I would say I want to budget better but like I'm pretty good at that now but I always want to have my finger on the pulse with that so that like you know lifestyle creep doesn't get too

far out of control and then I guess personally like I just like Jess I want to keep my body strong I want to be more consistent and you know what I'd really love to grow my family like I really love another little Harvey so we'll see where that takes us beautiful but now away from us and back into our community and our listeners. This is the part of the episode where we usually share our community money wins and confessions and then Bexbroke tips. But in keeping with the New Year's energy for this episode, we asked for your biggest financial learnings from the last year and the small changes that you made that made the biggest impact to your finances. Jess has a list. I sure do. What were the community's biggest money learnings from this

year? There's so many good ones. Starting off with Marina who said spending more on groceries that she actually wanted to eat and liked dramatically reduced the overall food spending because she's less likely to get takeaway or buy lunches at work or head back out to the shops for snacks and treats. She said she estimates that she saved around $3,000 in the last year alone. What? I think that's a great tip. But also that is a fantastic tip because we're always talking about like bringing our groceries budget down, not up, but if you brought it up and it's full of stuff that you really like eating, you're not like, oh, Uber eats a pizza. You're like, Absolutely. There is that pasta in the fridge. And yes, it was like the fancy like rigatoni or

whatever that you bought from the fresh section, but like that's way cheaper. Yes. Yes. Very, very clever. That's smart. I love it. Next, Sarah said that time in the market is better than time out of the market. Slow and steady investments work, which I feel like that is exactly what you learned. Okay, Sarah, you are a She's On The Money integrated member. On the same page. Indigo, beautiful name, shared her investing learning as well. And she said that regular investing even $5 a fortnight helps her to feel more confident about her financial future. I totally get it. Brilliant. Next, Beck, excellent name, said getting clear on your money values is so important because when you spend in line with your values, rather than just trying to cut

everything out, everything just becomes easier. I adore. Gorgeous. Brianna said working on her mental health means working on her money. Yes. Amen. Say it louder. She said she saved so much money this year because she's in a better place mentally and emotionally and doesn't feel the need to rely on her unhealthy coping mechanism of online shopping she still buys clothes online but now it's a conscious decision rather than a blind impulse adore and the tie between mental health and money is insane very strong yeah absolutely and then lastly pippet said finding communities where i feel safe and understood has helped me to grow so much as a person spaces like The SOTM, FIRE and NeuroDivergent communities have made me happier and opened me up to the

new ideas and opportunities I never would have considered before. Oh, beautiful. I really love that. Adore. All right. I feel like that is a very good wrap, Jess. Over to you, Bec. What small changes did our community make last year that made a big impact on their

finances? So, well, thank you for asking. I do have a few here. so indigo said instead of directing what i had left over to debt i prioritized putting 20 of my income to it non-negotiable and then did my budget off the rest i ended up paying off debt i thought was insurmountable that's a good word that is a good one and that is a good strategy and it's a great strategy i love that this is excellent from beck this is a great name so many becks and an indigo twice now a lot of becks in the new year and the indigos turns out

so reaching out to Zella finding out that I can actually afford to buy and putting a plan in place to buy my first home next year that's a good idea you should definitely reach out to Zella if you want to buy in the next 12 months we've got your back absolutely also thanks for picking that one just a little ego stroke for me yeah for those of you playing along who might be new here we're excited about that because I own a mortgage broking business called Zella and we just love getting first home buyers into the market. It's literally our passion and what we work so hard for. So, in the background, guys, I'm actually a legit finance person. Yeah. Crazy, right? Imagine that. You wouldn't believe it. I don't. This next one comes from Sarah who says,

automating direct debit to investment so I no longer have to decide. Yes. I feel like analysis paralysis happens then. Agreed, agreed, agreed. Next one comes from Ilana who says, set up proper auto payments for every single one of my bills, like my rates, electricity, and water with sufficient amounts has meant I now actually pay my bills before they occur. And the most I owe when I get the bill is a couple of dollars. It's been life-changing knowing I'm covered all the time. That is so freeing. That is so freeing. If you do have that little bit of extra money, then it's a great idea. This last one is from Sarah who says she started asking herself if if it's a want or a need, and leaving things in her cart for 48 hours,

which is very Victoria Devine, I do say. Double our recommended window. Well done. Double it. I love it. I love it. I feel like that's why at the start I said it's a little bit of a cult. We're not running a proper cult because we haven't worked out how to get you

guys in and do all the trappy part. But, like, you will find that the terms that we use, the references that we use, they just kind of slip into your daily life and that's what we want. Can you leave a comment if you're listening on Spotify and tell us what your favorite catchphrase that we say all the time is?

Because I love, I think there's so many. I'll be so attached. If it's slay, I will hit you. All right, let's go to a really quick break. And when we come back, we'll be helping to answer our money dilemma that's all about being overwhelmed about where to start

when you need to get your finances on track and something we slid into our DMs about what do you do when you realize your friends are kind of toxic when it comes to money? Welcome back, everybody. Let's take a listen to this week's Money Dilemma. hey victoria and the team i'm just reaching out because i have a bit of a money dilemma it's kind of a big one i've just separated from my partner we've been married for 18 years we have two

beautiful kids and we're just starting to like get the divorce sorted but he has managed our finances for the past 18 years. And I am now having to manage my own and I have no clue what I'm doing. I've managed to save a little bit and I've tried to do a budget, but I just can't seem to stick to it. And yeah, I really need some guidance. I know you've got an amazing podcast. I've listened to a bunch of those episodes, but it's a bit overwhelming. I don't really know where a start other than going back and listening to every single podcast. I am time poor though, because I am studying and working three jobs and I would just love some advice. So yes, I saw that you've got a course as well. So I don't know, maybe that's where I should start,

but yeah, you can let me know. Am I allowed to jump in first? Of course. I feel very passionate about this because I feel like you're doing all of the right things, all of the things that we suggest. We do have a podcast. We do have free budgeting tips and tricks, but you actually need to zoom out, put us to the side completely, sit down. What do you want? I feel like there were lots of, and this is not criticism, but there was lots of, I don't know what I want. I don't know where I'm starting. And that's telling me that you are lacking clarity. What are your life goals? What do you want to achieve? Is that financial freedom? Is it, you know, paying off debt? Like there was a lot of things that I was like, Oh, I want to dive into that and get more clarity on

this, but it really feels like you're lacking a bit of clarity in your life. How can you stick to a budget when you've got no motivation to do so? Like, what's the point in sticking to a budget when you just don't even know why you're doing it? You're like, oh, I kind of know that I should be doing this. Like, I want to get my stuff together. You're clearly a hustler. You work three jobs and you're studying. Queen, what? Like, I just think sit down with yourself and have a good hard chat. Like, ask yourself the question, why do I want a budget? Like, answer that. It's going to be different for everybody. I think it's about this personal clarification and then we can come in with the tools and the resources to help you get there. But you're the one that needs to show up

with the motivation and the understanding of why you want to make change, of why you want to be in this position. Why do you want to create wealth? Why do you want to budget? Why do you want to understand your cash flow? Why the hell would you care about your superannuation? And it might all come back to, okay, I really want to set myself up for the future. Or you might say, I really want to when I, you know, I'm finished uni, buy a house. What does that look like? Or I want to be able to travel. Like everyone's going to have different motivations, but baby cakes, what's yours? Like we need to actually double down and understand why do you want to hang out with us? What about your life is giving you stress? What about your situation needs to change? Because once you've

got that, then we can give you the tools and resources and it feels good to use them as opposed to, I did a budget, but I don't really look at it. Like that makes sense. We need to find the motivation. Jessica, what would you do? Oh, I'm just going to say, I'm really sorry that you're going through this. I think it's really, it's a tough situation. This is why we always recommend, even if you're not the partner who looks after the finance primarily to make sure that you're kind of across the ins and outs, because it can be really confronting for you after 18 years, I can understand that it would feel really overwhelming. And so I want to validate that you're doing a good job in the sense of the fact that you're looking at everything and wanting

to improve is a fantastic thing. I think that from the budgeting side of things, if you haven't tried the Shiz and the Money free budget template, that is a really good place to start. We also have a great episode called Budget Like a Boss that goes over like the ins and outs of Victoria's recommended system and how you can make that all work. If you have done all of those things, like you said, you had a budget and the problem you're having is you're not sticking to it. I think you need to look at why that is. Are you not sticking to the budget because the budget you've created is unrealistic and so you've given yourself $100 a week for groceries but for you and the kids it's actually $150 because if we're unrealistic in what we allocate in our budget

the budget is never going to work so it's either you haven't allocated funds correctly or your impulse control needs work and we're buying things maybe that we shouldn't or going out for dinners that we shouldn't I don't know which the answer is for you but take a look and figure it out if it is that second option if you are maybe spending a little bit more than you should a bit of tough love for anyone who is in the same situation we don't need to have or do everything I think especially for you right now in this season of change you may just have to strip back to the bare bones and I know that that's probably going to be hard to navigate when you've got the kids and you don't want their lifestyle to feel like it changes but you also need to give yourself grace

and there may be a period of time where given how much work that you're doing in your study and all of these things you can have everything that you want but not all at once as Victoria likes to say and I think that you need that's a quote you could put in the comments that's one of my personal favorites I think um I think that you need to maybe just pull it back as far as you can to the bare bones and also give yourself permission to do that that's really good point I I am the same as you Jess I I'm firstly really really sorry this sounds like a really I feel bad that I just dove in and said find meaning and purpose and you guys are both like look we're really sorry like me too but we've got stuff to do yeah sorry sorry yeah no that's not tough love like I want you to love

your life here's how you can absolutely sorry no that's okay I but I do you can't go back and fix things but I really am I get stressed for people who are who just let their partners do all the finance stuff and then like if something happens it is so risky because then you're like I have no idea. I've not, I don't know. I don't know where to start. I don't know what to do, which is a reasonable thing to feel. I hope that your partner is like, let me help you because we've built a life together. And now you're just kind of like on your own. So I totally understand. I think it's worth mentioning that I'm noticing people are getting like harder and harder on themselves when the economy or the cost of living is getting higher and higher. But it's like,

some things are completely out of our control. We can't help that. Sometimes you can hustle and hustle and hustle. The cost of living is so extreme. It's not on us. It's actually just really hard to live right now. So I think there's a little bit of, maybe there's a little bit of that too going on. So just what I'm saying is it's hard enough. Don't be hard on yourself as well. But I think exactly as Jess says, try and see if there's anything that's like unrealistic in your budget. But I've also noticed that like, honestly, opening a billion savers accounts with different names for each account and then putting money in there. So it's a lot easier to see, oh, I only have $10 for groceries this week. And then once that $10 is right out, you're like, okay, what am I

dipping into? Sometimes you don't know what you're dipping into when there's just money in your account and you're like, oh, I'm sure that's fine. And then a bill comes and you're like, oh my God, I have no money for that. But if it's in the bills account, then it's like, I know that I'm dipping into bills. I know that I have to make that back. You know what I mean? And some people it's why Jess has 13 yeah that's exactly how I set mine up too you get it

is it 13 psychos yeah boys good memory there you go I'm a psycho great memory great memory so I think something like that where you can like see

where you're taking it out of because then you kind of like it kind of makes more sense if you ever get to a place where you're like I can't afford this that makes sense because I took it out

when I had to buy this and blah blah blah but don't be hard on yourself basically yeah could we please perhaps hear a juicy DM

we can of course hear a juicy DM are you ready So this week's one. Hi, Queens. I've always lived paycheck to paycheck, but I found she's on the money in the last year and I am proud to say I'm making changes for the better. What I didn't expect was how much it would change how I see the people around me. I'm realizing my friendship group is toxic when it comes to money. There's a lot of spending beyond their means, normalizing consumer debt and no interest in improving their situation. They're not bad people, but being

around that energy makes it so hard for me to stay on track. I hate feeling like this because I don't want to sound judgmental, but I want to surround myself with people who want better for themselves. I wouldn't even know how to find these kinds of friends. And I don't want to throw away years of friendship. Can you please help? It's such a hard situation. I think you need to acknowledge that you do sometimes outgrow friends and that's okay. If your lives move in different directions, if you have different values, because you were the sum of the seven people you spend the most time with, I think is what that study says. Like your habits, your behaviors. I don't even have seven friends. What does that mean for me? The sum of the one, two,

three of us that we spend the most time with. I am elite. You're doing pretty well. But you know, so I think that the people you do surround yourself with really have a huge impact on your ability to meet and achieve your goals. With that being said, you also can absolutely have friends that I don't want to say service different parts of you because like a friendship is not a transaction but friends that uh you have friends that support or fit in with different parts of your personality like no one person is everything to everyone and so it may be that those friends that you've had for a long time you have a great time when you're together you love a board games night you love an adventure you love something like that and that's okay and maybe

finding your people who have a similar passion for personal growth and making these kinds of life changes, being budget conscious and all of those things. Maybe it's you need to bring additions in rather than necessarily having to let go. But with that being said, you did use the word toxic. And I do think if someone is toxic, you maybe do need to give them the boot. So, you know, leave that to your best discretion. In terms of how you meet people, I think like online communities, the Shizunamani community is full of hundreds of thousands of incredible people. And lots of them have become real friends in real life. Absolutely. Maybe one day we'll bring back the events and you can like meet people then, but also just like through the

group itself, having conversations. If you're not in the Facebook group, for anyone who's new, we have a Facebook group with over 300,000 incredible people, so many people. And we have threads where you can comment and share ideas. And it's a great way to form connections with others there. So that is what I would perhaps suggest in real life. Otherwise do things that you enjoy, meet people out and about in the real world. I think like the power of a shared interest, to shared passion can connect you with someone in a really meaningful way. Also like sports teams, like social sport.

All of my friends came from Frisbee, all of my close friends and my boyfriend. I think that's a really, yeah, it's a great Frisbee. Buy a Frisbee, get a whole family. Yeah, pretty much. I can completely understand the feeling of like maybe like learning something new or like finding a way of life that feels better for you and then looking at the people

that aren't doing those things and now seeing them in a different kind of light and being like, oh, you are not changing, you're not growing and then feeling this kind of like almost like, and I don't mean to sound bad, but like self-righteousness almost in a way that is not, it's not bad. I think you're growing, you feel like the people around you aren't growing. If they are toxic in a way that is like they're pushing you

to ignore all that you've learned and pushing you to still be bad with money and, and, and like really not encouraging your growth and also kind of like looking down on you for changing in any kind of way, then that, that is bad. And you do need to unfortunately give them the boot, I would say, but if they are just not changing their own behavior, but still supporting you and still being good friends in every other way, I don't see any problem with that. I think that it can be really hard to watch especially knowing what you know now but a friend told me this is more like in the sustainability environmental space she said the best way to spread awareness is to just do and do it kindly and do it gently and and people can maybe sometimes watch on and be curious and then

want to change their own behavior yeah but just doing and not telling more to that yeah yeah like Like just like being this kind of way and like I'm still talking about the environmental, but this can apply in your situation. But let's say like packing your own lunch, using your reusable straw, like people will see what you're doing in the financial space and eventually see like, oh, this is probably like a better way to live in terms of being a little bit more stress free and then being curious, but forcing it or telling people, and I know for sure you will not change unless you're ready to. And I'm still not super ready. So I still am not super changing, but you can't

like push that on people. They just have to move in their own way. What do you think? I agree. I find it really hard because you use the word toxic, but then you also like backed up a little bit of what toxic meant to you. So you said they're spending a lot beyond their means. You know, they normalize their consumer debt and like they've got no interest in improving their situations and that's fine but people don't know what they don't know and from that I'm just going to pretend it's a very simple toxic thing because like I have had genuinely toxic friends who have questioned why would you do that don't you find it embarrassing posting on social media or why do you even care so much about budgeting you're so stuck up rah rah like that to me is toxic need to

get out of my life toxic toxic in your situation seems they just don't have access to the tools and the resources that you've discovered. And I think that you can gently lead by example, like what Bec was saying when they suggest, let's go out for dinner. I'll be like, oh my goodness, no, I really want to put more pressure on you guys. You were saying the other day, finance is really tough. Why don't we have dinner at my place? Small things that are steps in the right direction, I think could be a really good thing. And at the end of the day, just because they have normalized consumer debt for them, doesn't mean you need to engage in it. It's like, I have friends that vape just because they vape does not mean I have to vape that's just not of interest to me

is a bad thing I couldn't care less your body your choice but I think same comes to money like if they're making decisions you wouldn't make that does not impact you like that is actually frankly none of your business unless they are encouraging you and you know maybe not making you feel good about the decisions that you're making at which point you would have to let them know that they're overstepping their boundaries or that you're not comfortable with the way they're communicating or even just going, oh my gosh, like that's so crazy. I listened to an episode about consumer debt the other day and how bad it can be for you. Maybe you want to have a listen. Here's a link to a podcast. So for me, it's not necessarily toxic, cut these people out.

But yeah, maybe you do want to start surrounding yourself with people who are more like you. Like when you find a value that you have or you find a hobby or an interest, you want other people to bounce off like it's kind of lonely doing this on your own but like how fun like Jess and I talk about it all the time her 13 saver accounts what you're up to how does that work oh you're doing that oh smart I want to do that too like you can find more friends like that you do have to look for them though because I find that making friends as an adult is ridiculously hard yeah much harder than when you're young oh absolutely so first question I asked was what would you do if you were our community member and 40% of you said I'd stay friends I just keep money out of the

conversations. 39% said I would set firm boundaries and then prioritize me. 13% said be honest about how you're feeling. And 8% said you would quietly distance yourselves. I then asked, do your friendships support the future you're trying to build? 68% said sometimes, but not everything and everyone. 26% said, yeah, we're aligned. 3% said not really. And 2% said I've changed friends because of this. I don't even know how to change friends. It is a bit of an awkward one, isn't it? Yeah. Like I totally get it. Then we asked the community or I asked, what's your two cents? As I always do. First person said, just introduce your friends to She's On The Money. Boom. Money problem solved. Go get rich together. Absolutely. Next person said, they're friends.

You're not married. How they spend their money is none of your business. Next person is using another she's on the money quote. A rising tide lifts all ships. Yes. You could be an inspiration and set examples for when they are ready. So that's basically what Bec was saying. Another person said, don't define your friends by their money habits. They are still your friends. So focus on that. This is very true. Next person said, I have lots of different friends with lots of different money and life goals and aspirations. It doesn't matter. And then the last one I'll share is this person said, I asked them if they think their financial decisions are smart and now they're slowly getting better. There you go. Beautiful. So I feel like that's a good place to

be in. Like let's just lead by example, but it doesn't mean people have to follow. Yeah, totally. Anyway, I feel like that's a really great place to leave it. Welcome to 2026, my friends. I'm so excited to be here. I'm just so excited for the year that's going to be. There's just so much planned. Our summer series is literally launching tomorrow. So jump on that. Go listen to our podcast. Go download all of our free stuff. And we just we've got so many exciting things coming up in 2026 that we can't wait to share with you. See you later, guys. Bye, guys. Bye. The advice shared on She's on the Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and should

not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's on the Money are authorized representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.